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PLACENCIA |
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 With a population approaching twenty thousand, ORANGE WALK is the
largest town in the north of Belize and the centre of a busy
agricultural region. Like Corozal, less than an hour away along the
Northern Highway, it was founded by mestizo refugees fleeing from the
Caste Wars in Yucatán in 1849, who chose as their site an area that had
long been used for logging camps and was already occupied by the local
Icaiché (Chichanha) Maya.
Orange Walk traditionally thrived on the sugar and citrus industries,
but a fall in sugar prices has seen it come to depend more heavily on
profits from marijuana - though recent pressure from the US government
has forced the Belizean authorities to destroy many of the marijuana
fields. The town itself boasts few tourist attractions, and Corozal is a
preferable place to spend the night. The centre of town is marked by a
distinctly Mexican-style formal plaza, and the town hall across the main
road is actually called the Palacio Municipal, reinforcing the town's
strong historical links to Mexico. The tranquil, slow-moving New River,
a few blocks east of the centre, was a busy commercial waterway during
the logging days. Now, however, it's a lovely starting point for
visiting the ruins of Lamanai , and several local operators now offer
tours.
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